Revision as of 10:49, 19 November 2011

Because modern electronics components are tending more and more towards becoming SMD-only, and because the associated size reduction can also be very useful for space projects, we need a reflow oven.

Donators

The current direction the project seems to be going (buying a new oven and modding it) we are going to need a little more funds than I (smeding) can provide on my own. 100 EUR should be more than enough to cover everything, to give an idea of the funds needed. Better budget will come when decisions and designs are finalised.

smeding can contribute about €20

Oven

Haven't hunted around that much, but current best choice seems to be this. We can do cheaper if we find something second-hand. Feel free to add suggestions.

We probably want the following from an oven:

Small volume: 15L-ish

High power: 2kW-ish, preferrably top and bottom elements1

With exhaust fan if possible, as we'd need one anyway

Controller

To be constructed. Will probably consist of a large triac to switch the heating element and a fan on and off in a control loop with a thermocouple.
We still need a decent fan to speed up the cooling phase. Needs to be able to withstand rather high temperatures, something from an oven would be ideal.